What should the Mets expect from Steven Matz in 2017?

Steven Matz battled through bone spurs in his elbow for much of 2016 but had a strong sophmore season that secured his reputation as one of the better young lefties in the game -- if he can stay healthy.

While Matz understandably fell short of his ridiculous 2.27 ERA from his debut year, his 3.40 ERA was solid, backed up by close to a strikeout per inning and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.2 that puts him in the company of ace-level performers like Yu Darvish, Johnny Cueto, and Corey Kluber.

He generated ground balls and softly hit balls at an elite level, which kept his home run rate low. He doesn't get a ton of swings-and-misses, but he keeps hitters off balance with four above average…